.357 MAX

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ia1727

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Am I the only yo-yo around that still shoots the .357 MAX. ? I have a Thompson Contender I use to deer hunt with and have used this cartridge for years, properly loaded it's devastating on Whitetails. Can't begin to remember how many deer I've taken with it.

I hunt with it the same way I bow hunt--usually set up within 40 yards and one shot does it.

Did S&W ever have a revolver made for this caliber or has anybody ever taken a S&W revolver and had it converted to to .357 Max. ?

Steve
 
I still shoot all my maximums. I have a ruger blackhawk in 10.5 inch barell, a Seville with a 10.5 inch barrel and a Dan wesson with a 8 inch barrel. All are 357 maximums, or in the dw's case a supermag. I wish smith came out with an 8 shot x frame for it but I am not holding my breath on that one. I don't hunt but use th maximum for long range handgun shooting (100yd plus). I like to load the 180gr xtp with 4227. It was a great cartridge that did not deserve the rap it got. People ruined it trying to shoot 125gr bullets and ruger did not help much droping it only after a year or two of production.
 
Shooting4life,

I use the exact same loads in my T/C--accuracy is unbelievable out to 200 yards. The Hornady's I use are hollow points and do a fantastic job on whitetails. It's a great caliber that you very rarely hear much about.
 
SMITH & Wesson didn't make a 357 max that I know of but DAN Wesson did. It just happens to be the exact size frame as Smith and Wesson's X frame.

(shown with a .38, .357, and a .357max round)

dwsuper2.jpg
 
I too shoot a max, SUCKS the snot out of Michigan Whitetails, Please S&W, How about a new Max, Pleaseeeeeeeeee !
 
I handload 150 of them every year for my conservation club's annual youth hunter education program.
One of the things the first-year kids do is fire a couple of Contenders after graduating from the .22's. One of the Contenders is chambered for the 'Max.
Before loading them, I had no experience with that round.
It'll make the .357 magnum seem like .38 spl., folks!
 
The word at the time was that the Max was a real bad topstrap burner in revolvers and that pretty much killed it, especially when Ruger dropped their gun. True or not it stuck. Great round though.
 
I have a Contender with a 10 inch barrel in .357 Maximum.
Haven't shot it in a while.

I hunted deer with it for a few years a long time ago.
Never killed a deer with it. Had a couple of chances one day in Menominee, County but managed to screw up and never fired the gun that day.
 
I have the Ruger Super Blackhawk in the 357 max. I love the cartridge. Have not done any handloading for it yet but am thinking about it. Any good recipes for the 180 gr. jhp for whitetails?
 
the best loads I found in my TC super 14 was with the 180 grain Speer rifle bullet and WW-680 which is no longer made. I also liked the Hornady 140 grain hp with H-110 although the bullet was over matched for the velocity. in a TC it is one heck of a round. it was LOUD with either load
 
Steve, Would you share your load for deer. I just scoped my Seville and intend on using it for blacktails this fall.
Charlie
 
I don't hunt with mine but I think 180gr or 200gr xtp's would work well they are reasonably priced. 4227 is the go to powder for the maximum. If I remember correctly I was using 19gr of 4227 shoot the 180gr bullet out of my Seville. Got around 1450 fps and could get the load going faster if I wanted. Was able to keep the 10 shoot groups under 2 inches at 25 yards. Some people load over 21 gr's of 4227 but I don't find the need to push it like that.
 
Charlies,

Here's what I have and use. I have a T/C with a 14" Bull barrel with the T/C muzzle tamer on it, scoped with a T/C 2 1/2 X 7 with lighted reticle. I can consistently cover a quarter with shots at 200 yards from a bench rest.

I'm using IMR 4227 --20 grains--with a Hornady 180 grain HP/XTP hollow point bullet, Hornady product number #35771.

I don't know what a Seville is but if it's a wheel gun you may want to start a little lighter on the powder. Even with the 14" barrel and muzzle tamer she's still pretty stout.

Hope this helps.

Steve
 
Peter M. Eick said:
357maxes.jpg


I still shoot my two. They are great guns. I think I enjoy the model 40 the most though.
Click to expand...

Peter,
Love the looks of that D/W--are they still made ? I'd like to have a revolver in .357 Max just not a Ruger fan--they don't fit my hands at all.

Steve
 
Wayne M said:
The word at the time was that the Max was a real bad topstrap burner in revolvers and that pretty much killed it, especially when Ruger dropped their gun. True or not it stuck. Great round though.
Click to expand...

While there may have been other reasons, to my knowledge Ruger stopped production of the 357 Max revolvers for precisely that reason, excessive flame cutting at the forcing cone. I recently read or heard that years later, Ruger discovered that Remington had put an additive in the powder without Ruger's knowledge that caused the flame cutting. I don't recall the reason Remington did so, but it was allegedly the cause. Anyone heard this story or can added to it? I too have a T/C barrel in max, to be used in handgun silhouette events. I rarely shoot it today, but away enjoyed the performance from the 10 barrel.
 
A Seveille is a very well made SA wheelgun ...I too have settled on 4227 but have never used it for hunting. My usual go to bullet is the 158 grain XTP so I will give some of the heavier bullets a try. Thanks for the relaoding information.
Charlie
SW Ory-Gun
 
I still shoot my 14" Contender in 357 Max.

What a great cartridge! Too bad it never got acceptance in a revolver with the reported top strap cutting issue.

I always thought it would make a dandy round in a lever action carbine, like a modern Win 92 (may be too long?), a Marlin 1894, or it would certainly be easily adaptable in a Win 94 and way better than 357 Mag which is already pretty impressive out of a carbine. One of my shooting buddies has a 21" Contender barrel chambered in it. Devastating!
 
I thought about taking my win 94ae in 357 mag and reaming it out for the max. From what I read at the time the 94 is the only 357 lever gun large enough for the max. Would need to adjust the feed ramps and you would be gtg. Never got the project off the ground and sold the gun to fund the purchase of my Dan wesson 357 supermag at the time.
Always figured that I could find a 94ae in 357 than I could the Dan wesson. The other fun project that I had in mind that never took off was having a maximum cylinder for my blackhawk reamed to take 357/44 Bain and Davis but instead of using 44 mag brass I was going to use 445 supermag brass. That would have been fun,maybe another day
 
Besides the gas cutting issue, which was real, .357 bullets of the day were not suited for the velocities the .357 Maximum could achieve. The problem wasn't limited to terminal velocity performance but also the shedding of the jackets in flight. There was an article with photo's in one of the major gun rags. It was Shooting Times I believe.

:)

Bruce
 
The problem was people shooting 125 gr bullets. Top strap cutting was not a big deal. It would get to a certain point then stop. Just have to use the right powder like 4227 and 158gr bullet or heavier. Best accuracy is usually with a bullet that has a full jacket at th base o the bullet or if you are going to shoot lead with a gas check.
 
Yes, proper bullets for it are something to be considered, especially when driving it out of longer barrels like a Contender, particularly a 14" one.

Hornady made single shot pistol bullets at one time, maybe they still do, that worked exceptionally well. I still have about 600 of them (left from back in the days when they were actually affordable!!). The Hornady 160 and 180gr silhouette bullets hold together pretty well at Max velocities too, but work quite well on game. Normal HP pistol bullets not so well unless you are looking for terminal performance disintegration.
 
Hobie said:
Good to see another former member wearer of the lightning fast chicken F'er here...

I love my .357 Maximum. Great cartridge and about perfect in so many ways.
Click to expand...
Yes, there are quite a few of us lightning fast chicken whatevers on here.
Remember, us Remington raiders never retreat, we just backspace!
Peace,
gordon
USASA, '70-'76:)
 
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